The word "火车站" is formed through a straightforward, logical combination of three meaningful parts, where each character contributes a clear semantic concept that builds upon the last. It starts with "火" (huǒ), meaning "fire", which historically refers to the steam engines of trains. This modifies "车" (chē), meaning "vehicle" or "car", to specifically indicate a "train" (a fire-vehicle). Finally, "站" (zhàn), meaning "station" or "stop", is added to designate the place for that specific vehicle. Thus, the compound sequentially narrows the meaning from "fire-vehicle" to the "place for fire-vehicles", arriving at the modern concept of a railway station.